Like many families, we played numerous board games over the holiday season. However, of all the games we enjoy, we rarely play Monopoly anymore. Now, it sits on the shelf collecting dust while every other game gets a holiday workout. 

Why?

Well, there are two reasons. First, it is a long game. It takes so much time to play it, and everyone seems to get burnt out after an extended period. 

The other reason is that Monopoly is ruthless. To win, you have to buy up all the property. You put up houses and hotels and try to bankrupt people. Your goal is not to help other people but destroy them. There is no room for others to succeed in their game for you to win. No one cheers on competitors because they are the enemy of your victory. Monopoly is about the total domination of everyone at the table. 

As a result, my family chooses to play games where we can laugh and cheer one another on during the competition. We play games like Uno, Yahtzee, and Apples to Apples. These end with a winner, but no one at the table feels like a loser.

When you think about your life, ask yourself this metaphorical question, “What game are you playing?”

Perhaps the old saying is correct, “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose; it is how you play the game.”

Whenever someone approaches me on Sunday morning and asks me a question, I feel like I have two minutes to answer. There is always something about to start or someone else waiting to talk. Time is so limited on Sunday morning, and I sense the urgency of the moment.

It is not that a person’s issues are unimportant to me. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I want to give them the fullest, thought-through ideas when someone asks a question. Yet, time is limited. So I give everyone my short answer and pray for the best.

I assume I am not the only person who struggles with this in the Church. Teachers, worship leaders, and volunteers all find it challenging to handle significant issues in a short amount of time. In addition, the setting on Sunday morning is not entirely conducive to meeting complex needs.

You are not alone if you have been part of a Church community and felt like the people only give simple answers to complicated questions. We know you have real needs and problems and want to help you, but we need more time to make it happen. That is why small groups, Sunday school classes, fellowship time, and connection outside of Sunday morning are so vital to the growth of a believer. Most questions in life require more than two minutes answers, and if you give a Christian more time to talk, we will gladly give you the response you desire. 

Through the holiday season, the Church I lead made different decisions than every Church in my area. Then, the weather changed those choices into seemingly bad ideas, and we tried to adjust accordingly. My Church ended up doing nothing for Christmas and then having our candlelight program on New Year’s Day. 

It was hard to watch other Church communities having big celebrations and people posting about how much they loved their Christmas programs. I was at home doing nothing and feeling helpless. 

Then the Lord spoke into my soul, “You do not lead THOSE Churches. I called you to lead this one.” It was not an audible voice but a word spoken quietly into my heart by the Holy Spirit that changed my perspective immediately.

God called me to lead this local Church with this group of people. Together we made choices based on the needs and availability of the people. We discussed options, prayed for guidance, and acted in the best possible way for the people in this community of believers. 

Other Pastors and Church leaders have totally different situations. They are in other towns, have different leaders, and encountered different issues than we faced. They made choices based on their people and their needs. 

When someone compares two Churches, they are not comparing equals. Saying, “Their Church did this, and our Church did not,” is only part of the story. There were multiple issues involved, and we did what we thought was best for our group, with me leading the way.

God called me to lead this Church to the best of my ability along with the elders, deacons, and ministry heads. Honestly, sometimes it looks good, and sometimes it does not. But in the end, we are only trying to do what is best for this group that God entrusted to us.    

Preacher and author Rick Warren said there are five concentric circles of commitment within the community of believers. They start outside and move toward the middle with community, crowd, congregation, committed, and core. 

This idea means that there are different types of congregations within a Church. First, some call the Church home, some attend occasionally, and others only attend and do nothing else. Then, finally, some people come and serve and are connected to others who do the same. 

Every week at worship, I see these layers of people interact. Some are here for their annual visit; others come in and out without talking to anyone. Then a core group shows up early and talks to people in meaningful conversations. They hang around after worship, share stories, and often share a meal. This group looks forward to Church all week and deeply loves the people who are part of it. 

If Rick Warren is correct in his assessment of the Church, then if you come on Sunday morning and it is kind of bland, unenjoyable, and disconnected, the problem might not be the Church but your level of commitment to it. One of the best ways to get the most out of the Church is to become part of the core, which comes through a commitment only you can make.

The crowds that followed and listened to Jesus the most are referred to as three groups: tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. Two of those are specific professions, while the other is a general description of people who did not follow the God of the Bible. 

Prostitutes were women of the night who sold their bodies to have money to survive. There was always a willing client in a culture where men traveled by boat and horse for long distances for business. This type of work was widely accepted, and the people who did it were considered far from the grace of God.

Tax collectors are on the opposite side of the social spectrum. They had committed their lives to making money. They were wealthy but considered outsiders to the faith because of their taxation of the Jewish people. Their work was not godly, but it was hard to understand why they prospered while taking from God’s people.

I want to suggest that these two groups represent both sides of the same coin. On one side are the prostitutes who reached the bottom of society through a series of poor choices. On the other side are wealthy tax collectors who reached the pinnacle of society by making good financial choices. Yet, both of them reached the same place in life. Both realized that they were empty and in need of a Savior. They both saw that life without God was devoid of meaning and purpose. Both the poor streetwalker and the wealthy businessman were empty inside.

The natural human tendency is to quickly understand that prostitutes need Jesus and that tax collectors are okay without him. The truth is that people with great wealth are as empty as the hookers on the street. The gospel of Jesus is for both ends of the financial and social spectrum, along with everyone in between. 

So the next time you think, “Why would I share Jesus with them? They have their life altogether.” Remember that everyone needs Jesus.   

Some Christians like to talk about forgiveness while holding onto the hurt. Those old painful experiences become the excuse we use to avoid future actions. 

“They asked me to do that, but I am not going to cooperate. After all, you remember when they did that awful thing to me. Because they did that, I will not show them my kindness now. Oh sure, I forgive them, but that does not change anything about what they did.”

True forgiveness is a choice to let go of the hurt that has been done to you. In Christ, God forgave the worst in you, and now that you are in him, you forgive the worst in others. 

The place where forgiveness shines the brightest in the life of a believer is that moment when you want to say, “But don’t you remember what they did,” and hold onto that hurt.   

No one wishes for their life to be more difficult or to walk through a struggle in the new year. 

Yet, when life is going well, it is easy for us to begin to rely on ourselves. We quickly believe that life feels good because we are smart and make great decisions. Surely the blessings of life result from people properly doing the right thing. Give us enough time, and we will eliminate God from the equation and declare that we are “self-made.”

Trouble in this world keeps us humble. It forces us to hit our knees in prayer and cry out to God about the things we cannot control. The more difficult our path is to tread, the more we need God’s guidance and strength.

Paul told the believers in the city of Corinth, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8-9 – NIV2011)

I want 2023 to be the year I experience my “best life,” but that might not mean everything goes smoothly. Quite possibly, it means that God will send me some trouble so that I learn to rely entirely on his power and grace. I believe a life dependent on God is what he desires for you and me and ultimately that is our best life.  

My present self is starting some projects today that are not fun. After the holidays, my diet and exercise are being strictly observed. I am starting a new Bible reading plan to take me through the Bible this year. I am setting goals and doing the work it will take to be in a better place in one year and a great place in five years.

Honestly, my present self is not excited about it. The discipline to get up early daily, along with the blood, sweat, and tears, is scary. Presently, I am about instant gratification. I want to feel good today; that has gotten me back to this point. Eating poorly, sleeping late, and not having quiet time with God have all felt good in the moment but were disappointing in the long run.

So to my future self, “You are welcome.”

The hard work I am doing today and every day this year will benefit me down the road and allow me to be the person in the future I wish I were now.

I want to offer a quick review of this past year before moving on to the next.

I know some of you are long-time readers and others are new, but I wanted to make sure you had all read some of my most popular blog posts.

Most popular posts written in 2022

5. Only You See It

4. The Power of Suggestion

3. Not Feeling It

2. Missing the Best Part

1. Serving That One Christian

Most popular posts read in 2022 (written any year)

5. What Could Happen on an Idle Tuesday?

4. Marriage Analogy

3. Non-Verbal Communicaiton at Church

2. The Two Dogs

1. Holding Up Moses’ Arms

Thanks for reading over the past year and I hope you will continue to do so in 2023

I never dreamed of being a preacher when I was a little kid. But through the work of God, here I am as a pastor. I have been doing it for over 29 years as my vocation and calling.

Once I decided to stand in front of people and preach the word of God, all I ever wanted was to do it to the very best of my ability. I wanted people to know that when I stood up to speak, they would hear God’s word explained in a way they could understand and apply – every single time.

As a result, I have taken classes, read books, been to lectures, and listened to thousands of sermons. I read helpful articles, tuned in to podcasts, and talked to other preachers. In the early years, I committed to speaking at every available opportunity. Some years I spoke in Sunday School, Church worship, youth group, Bible study, and every holiday gathering. I performed weddings and funerals on an endless number of weekends. For a few years, I spoke well over a thousand times a year. 

All I want is to be the best preacher I can be. 

The unfortunate consequence is that I neglected other areas of my ministry. I did not develop the people skills I needed to interact effectively. My leadership struggled and still does. I was terrible at small group discussions and leading people in expressing their thoughts.

So as another year ends and a new one begins, I am still committed to being a great preacher, but I am also trying to be the loving person God wants me to be as well. I am planning more and more time with people to make the connections I need in ministry. This is the second or third year I have made this decision, and I hope I am improving. I will keep working on it until I am a great preacher and a great person to be around.